My Life is So Richly Blessed
This weekend, God sent a huge reminder of how blessed my life is. I mean really. I grew up in a Christian home. I have learned about Jesus Christ's wonderful sacrifice since I was a baby. I also have not grown up in a country that was amid a civil war. I have not had to flee my country (leave on choice yes but not fleeing). I have been able to work on two amazing staffs at two amazing camps. I was able to live in Washington state for ten weeks and meet some incredible that are like family to me. I was blessed to go to an amazing college and meet some great friends. Not to mention I am now working overseas having an amazing experience as I learn this new culture and work with some incredible kids. Not only that I get to talk about God openly in my classroom and pray with my students. Yeah I am blessed and I seemed to forget it from time to time. I mean I have been getting tired of always having to try something new or guess what the food is every time I go out to eat which is quite often. I have been frustrated with not having a lot of close friends like mine from home.
This realization came on Sunday morning. I went to Kowlooon International Baptist Church. I got there very hot because it was really hot outside and its a 15 minute walk to church from the KCR. As I sat down I was only thinking about how hot it was in the church without air conditioning and really miss my church from home. The service started with a baptism. At the church they have the person being baptised share their testimony. This particular person is still learning English and chose Paul Pollard to read it for him (Paul is the husband of one of the second grade teachers at ICS). It was incredible. He was born in Liberia to a Muslim family. He grew up learning the Islamic religion and their practices. His country then broke into a civil war and his mom was killed and his grandmother died of cancer. He then joined one side of the civil war and started fighting with them. He was critically injured in the head and leg. Someone that was a Christian saved him and helped him escape. He ended up in Ghana. There he met a boy selling ice. He was also a Christian. He was living on the streets at this time. He ended up selling ice with this boy. After some time the boy introduced him to this other man that was a Christian or said he was. For a while this other man tried to convince him to go and live with him. He refused for a while but the boy that he was living with told him he should go. So he did. It was fine for a while but then for some reason the man got him a Ghana passport and they left for Hong Kong. The man told him that he was going to help him with a business in Hong Kong. He was left at the Star Ferry while the man went to do some work. He returned. The boy asked him what he was going to be doing. Eventually, the man told him that he was going to have him carry drugs for him because he was young and the penalty would be lighter for him if he got caught. The boy refused because he knew it was wrong but also because he had promised his grandmother that he would never be involved with drugs. He ran away. This led to him living at the Star Ferry harbor for six weeks. The Filipino ladies would feed him on Sundays and let him stay with them on Sundays. It was hard. One day someone handed him a flyer. I forgot what it was about but he ended up at the YMCA in Tsim Sha Tsui. Somehow he met this man that took him in and he and his wife have helped him in many ways. They started taking him to KIBC and he struggled with becoming a Christian for a long time because he felt like he was betraying his mom and grandmother. He was in the process of applying for political refugee in Hong Kong and had not heard anything about his case in a long time. He told God that if he could call and find out something about his case that we would become a Christian. The next day his case worker called him, unsolicited and gave him updates on everything that was happening with his case and what they were waiting on and everything. He gave his life to Christ that day. It was incredible to hear his story. I just sat there and had trouble taking it all in. Not to mention that he is only 18 now. So much has happened in his life. Things that I do not think I could bear one aspect of not to mention it all. God truly is amazing and will work all things for HIS good. The boy took a Christian name at his baptism. It is Nathanel. Please pray for Nathanel as he is still working on his political refugee status and beginning his life in Hong Kong.
Well that's what I have been thinking about all week. But I haven't told you about Sat. yet. I finally started feeling better on Sat. afternoon and so that evening I went with Kathleen and Megan to the Peak to see the fireworks for Chinese National Day. It was exactly what I expected but it was good. Next year though I will either not watch them or watch them closer to the harbor. While waiting on them though we met this couple. The man had been in Iraq for the last 2.5 years and still had a half year left to serve. His wife lives in Thompson, GA. They were in Hong Kong for the month while he had time off. His brother lives in Hong Kong so they were staying there. At one point during the fireworks he said it sounded like home to him (Iraq). I couldn't image it. So scary and so hard. They were a nice couple and good to talk to people from GA. Anyway, it was a good night and I enjoyed it. That's most of what is going on now.
This realization came on Sunday morning. I went to Kowlooon International Baptist Church. I got there very hot because it was really hot outside and its a 15 minute walk to church from the KCR. As I sat down I was only thinking about how hot it was in the church without air conditioning and really miss my church from home. The service started with a baptism. At the church they have the person being baptised share their testimony. This particular person is still learning English and chose Paul Pollard to read it for him (Paul is the husband of one of the second grade teachers at ICS). It was incredible. He was born in Liberia to a Muslim family. He grew up learning the Islamic religion and their practices. His country then broke into a civil war and his mom was killed and his grandmother died of cancer. He then joined one side of the civil war and started fighting with them. He was critically injured in the head and leg. Someone that was a Christian saved him and helped him escape. He ended up in Ghana. There he met a boy selling ice. He was also a Christian. He was living on the streets at this time. He ended up selling ice with this boy. After some time the boy introduced him to this other man that was a Christian or said he was. For a while this other man tried to convince him to go and live with him. He refused for a while but the boy that he was living with told him he should go. So he did. It was fine for a while but then for some reason the man got him a Ghana passport and they left for Hong Kong. The man told him that he was going to help him with a business in Hong Kong. He was left at the Star Ferry while the man went to do some work. He returned. The boy asked him what he was going to be doing. Eventually, the man told him that he was going to have him carry drugs for him because he was young and the penalty would be lighter for him if he got caught. The boy refused because he knew it was wrong but also because he had promised his grandmother that he would never be involved with drugs. He ran away. This led to him living at the Star Ferry harbor for six weeks. The Filipino ladies would feed him on Sundays and let him stay with them on Sundays. It was hard. One day someone handed him a flyer. I forgot what it was about but he ended up at the YMCA in Tsim Sha Tsui. Somehow he met this man that took him in and he and his wife have helped him in many ways. They started taking him to KIBC and he struggled with becoming a Christian for a long time because he felt like he was betraying his mom and grandmother. He was in the process of applying for political refugee in Hong Kong and had not heard anything about his case in a long time. He told God that if he could call and find out something about his case that we would become a Christian. The next day his case worker called him, unsolicited and gave him updates on everything that was happening with his case and what they were waiting on and everything. He gave his life to Christ that day. It was incredible to hear his story. I just sat there and had trouble taking it all in. Not to mention that he is only 18 now. So much has happened in his life. Things that I do not think I could bear one aspect of not to mention it all. God truly is amazing and will work all things for HIS good. The boy took a Christian name at his baptism. It is Nathanel. Please pray for Nathanel as he is still working on his political refugee status and beginning his life in Hong Kong.
Well that's what I have been thinking about all week. But I haven't told you about Sat. yet. I finally started feeling better on Sat. afternoon and so that evening I went with Kathleen and Megan to the Peak to see the fireworks for Chinese National Day. It was exactly what I expected but it was good. Next year though I will either not watch them or watch them closer to the harbor. While waiting on them though we met this couple. The man had been in Iraq for the last 2.5 years and still had a half year left to serve. His wife lives in Thompson, GA. They were in Hong Kong for the month while he had time off. His brother lives in Hong Kong so they were staying there. At one point during the fireworks he said it sounded like home to him (Iraq). I couldn't image it. So scary and so hard. They were a nice couple and good to talk to people from GA. Anyway, it was a good night and I enjoyed it. That's most of what is going on now.
posted by Caroline at
8:29 PM
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